4 Reasons Millennials Start Side Hustles

Throughout workplaces, millennials have a reputation of lacking loyalty to their organization and rarely being content with where they are. Further, millennials are likely to be discontent with their full-time job and this has led to a generation of employees who maintain a side hustle.

A side hustle is a paid or unpaid role that an employee works outside of their full-time job. Sometimes it looks like a part-time job or freelance work, other times it is a volunteer role or even building one’s own business.

In an age where, “There’s an app for that,” rings true, opportunities to develop side hustles online have expanded the options for many talented individuals. Freelance crowdsourcing platforms, which I detailed recently here, have opened up a more flexible option to make side income. The options are nearly endless for folks who may need a to keep a fluid schedule, but want to pursue additional work.

According to a recent millennial report by Deloitte, 66% of millennials expect to leave their job by 2020. A few of the reasons for this are insufficient pay, lack of purpose in their work, inability to develop their skills, and desire to discover more outside the bounds of a traditional job.

Side Income

It’s no surprise that millennials are seeking additional streams of income to supplement their full-time job, with Student Loan Hero sharing that the average graduate of the class of 2016 has $37,172 in student loan debt.

Many people start a side hustle out of necessity. More and more young adults are choosing to be creative in how they make their additional income, rather than picking up a server job at their local restaurant; though there’s plenty that still do that too.

Pursuing Purpose

More studies are revealing that millennials seek to work for organizations that align with their purpose and passion. Exploring how and where companies give back to their communities is the norm for a millennial job candidate.

Yet, millennials often feel unsettled and too far removed from the purpose they are pursuing in their daily work. Since some can’t afford to quit their job to follow their passions, they adopt a side hustle to fill that gap.

Examples of this include employees that volunteer their time regularly outside of work, develop a side business that serves the underprivileged, or professionals who provide pro bono work for projects that they care about.

Skills Advancement

Next to frequent advancement in their career, millennials are known for their desire to learn new skills. Traditional careers often have boundaries on their ability to gain new skills. For example, accountants are rarely offered opportunities to develop Search Engine Optimization (SEO) skills, often reserved for those in the marketing department.

Side hustles offer the ability to pursue skills development for personal satisfaction, or for the purpose of changing careers.

“Having a side hustle has enabled me to learn new skills that I have since incorporated into my 9-5 job,” shared Casey Dillon, freelance social media manager at caseydigital.com. “If you aren’t in your dream job or are hoping to switch roles in the future, taking on a side hustle can get your foot in the door of a new industry.

Flexible Discovery

Maybe Pinterest is to blame, but millennials generally love to travel. Their drive to discover runs deep and is likely ingrained by their upbringing filled with information availability.

The problem arises when young adults start their full-time jobs and are only allowed two weeks off per year. After weddings, family events, and necessary personal time, they aren’t left with much time to explore the corners of the world they had in mind.

“I think a huge motivation for millennials turning to side hustles is the desire to create financial and time freedom in their life,” shared Kassy Scarcia, Founder of Authentically Awakened Coaching, life and career coaching for post-grad millennials. “They want to be able to travel, experience, and not be burdened by debt doing it.”

Side hustles bring in the additional income needed for a few months off between jobs to travel. Further, some pursue a side hustle with the hopes of making that their primary income at some point while they pursue travel plans.

While you may read this and start brainstorming your side hustle options, you must know that maintaining two pursuits is not for the faint of heart. Scarcia explains, “The worst part of having a side hustle on top of my full-time job is finding a balance in life. On top of working full-time and having my side business, I am also trying to work out more, date more, spend time with friends more. There is so much more in my life and not enough time to make it all happen.”

It’s important to weigh priorities when considering what type of side hustle to pursue, if any. There are only 24 hours in each day and time management is key for those who take on the double responsibilities.

This article was written by Kaytie Zimmerman from Forbes and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.